Goa Lawah

GOA LAWAH

 The Bat Cave or Goa Lawah Temple is one of the ‘Sad Kahyangan Temples’ here in Bali,which is located in Klungkung regency. The story of Goa Lawah is still rught now a mistery,but many people firmly believe that the Bat Cave Temple is the entrance of a tunnel that leads to Mount Agung. This belief is further justified and reinforced when a chicken which got lost in the cave was later found in Mount Agung.

From the outside, the cave looks quite specious, however according Putu Juliadi, a local villager who has dared to enter the Bat Cave, the further it goes the cave gets smaller and smaller in diameter.

In front of the Bat Cave is a temple which is believed to have been built around the 11^th century. The communities of Bali, who regularly perform a Nyegara Gunung ceremony, frequently visit the Bat Cave Temple. This special ceremony which always put together the two elements of nature of segara which refers to the sea and of gunung which refers to mountain is indeed an important religious ceremony.

The communities use the Bat Cave Temple as the sea aspect of the ceremony while Besakih mother temple located in Mount Agung is used as the other pair of the Mountain Agung. The Nyegara Gunung religious ceremony which is repeatedly and periodically performed is intended to establish balance within the cosmic world.